Home heating bills have chilly forecast

By: Melanie Gilbert

LOWELL – In an unscheduled appearance – highlighting the importance of the issue – U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (MA-03) addressed Tuesday night’s City Council meeting about the impact of high heating costs on working families in the commonwealth.

“Eversource and National Grid are predicting that home heating utility bills are going to skyrocket this winter,” Trahan said. “Families here in Lowell are focused on the fact that they can’t afford increased costs to heat their home.”

According to historical climate data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, temperatures in the Merrimack Valley during the fall months of September through November will continue to drop from daytime highs of 85 to 45 degrees. In that same period, the nighttime temps will plunge from 58 to 26 degrees.

The winter months of December through February show even more dramatic downward shifts, with daytime highs rarely going above 40 degrees, and nighttime lows hovering around 15 degrees.

Trahan told the councilors that she is focused on making sure constituents have the resources they need to get through the winter.

“No parent should ever be forced to choose between keeping their family warm or putting food on their table,” she said.

Trahan, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said that the House and Senate approved, and President Biden signed into law, a short-term government funding package containing a $1 billion increase for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Of that funding, Massachusetts is set to receive at least $37 million to assist the more than 800,000 eligible low-income households in paying a portion of their winter heating bills.

Last winter, only 131,000 households in Massachusetts received assistance through LIHEAP, formerly known as Fuel Assistance, which Trahan said spoke to the need to get the word out in the community.

“Now we are focused on getting those funds into people’s pockets as soon as possible so families aren’t missing payments,” Trahan said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

Eligibility is based on household size and the gross annual income of every household member, 18 years of age or older, which cannot exceed 60% of the estimated state’s median income.

Information on eligibility can be accessed via the state’s energy portal page on https://bit.ly/3rXp2U5.

Representatives for both Eversource and National Grid said low-income discounts were available to qualifying families, and suggested customers call the customer assistance number on their bill to access resources.

In September, energy provider National Grid announced prices would begin to go up in the state as a result of world market conditions, and in part due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

In a statement, the utility wrote that, “National Grid is actively promoting bill management programs and options, and increasing outreach to ensure customers are aware of the forecast and have time to take advantage of all available services and tools that can help them save money on their energy bills.”

Massachusetts electric bills are also expected to double, spiking from 14.8 cents to 33.9 cents a kilowatt hour, a record high.

Trahan also referenced Lowell’s historic $79.5 American Rescue Plan Act funding, saying she was committed to bringing even more federal funding to Lowell.

“This city raised me,” Trahan said. The Lowell native graduated from Lowell High School, and now lives in Westford. “It gave me all the opportunities that I needed to be where I am today. It’s for that reason, that I have dedicated much of my adult life to giving back to Lowell, and opening similar opportunities for future generations of families to succeed.”

She spoke about shovel-ready projects, as well as planned projects that will utilize federal infrastructure funds to bring long-needed repairs to area bridges and roadways.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is a long overdue course correction,” she said. “$170 million to replace the Rourke Bridge is really just the beginning of how this package delivers for Lowell, and the communities across the region.”

Trahan listed repairs along 495 from Lowell to Haverhill, resurfacing work on Chelmsford St. in both directions, reconstruction projects on the VFW Highway and intersection upgrades on Route 38.

“That funding doesn’t even include $1.1 billion in more infrastructure projects or $2.5 billion in public transit upgrades that is still working its way to the state level,” she noted.

In her closing remarks, Trahan reached back to her working-class roots, cautioning that economic challenges like skyrocketing energy costs threaten the opportunities to build a better and more equitable Lowell for all.

“We need to meet these additional economic challenges that risk leaving large swaths of working families behind,” she said.

In its regular business, the council passed a resolution to recognize Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 to be “Hispanic Heritage Month” in the City of Lowell.

Executive Director Diego Leonardo of the Latinx Community Center for Empowerment, extended a community invitation to the first Latinx Festival on Saturday Oct. 15, from 1 to 7 p.m. at North Common Park, 413 Fletcher St.

“There are 33 different countries in Latin America that are represented in the City of Lowell,” Leonardo said. “This is away to celebrate those diverse communities.”

The free event will feature food vendors; live salsa, merengue and traditional Latin American dances; live music and performances by AfroDominicano, Sonn de mi Tierra, Salsa in Lowell and Mariachi Estrellas de Boston.